How To Land Your First Social Media Client

Are you a stud when it comes to growing social media accounts? It can be extremely profitable (and fun) for you to get your first clients under your belt.

Just imagine how your life would improve once you landed your first client.

If you have a 9 to 5 job, you’d generate a solid side hustle income or begin the process of transitioning to do this full time. If you’re a freelancer, this could develop into referrals and more leads for your other services. And if you’re a young entrepreneur, this could not only pay your bills but give you needed breathing room to continue working on your passion or building your business.

Extra money goes a long way regardless of the direction you take!

But I’m sure you know that step 1, getting the client, is easier said than done. Because you’re not the only one out there offering these services.

Working in the social media space is extremely competitive given the rich perks like:

Getting clients results becomes extremely profitable

Growing a following and engagement is a lot more fun than most types of jobs

It’s location-independent work, all you need is Internet

You get to express your creative side posting different text, images, and videos

There are essentially zero costs of being in business

So how do you get your first paying clients?

That’s a great question and one I solved in 2015 when I got an individual to pay me to grow his Instagram account. And now I run a digital marketing company where I’m routinely managing clients’ social media accounts.

Here are the 3 best tips I’ve learned from my experiences that I want to pass on to you to help you get your first signed contract.

Tips To Get Social Media Clients

1) Believe in what you’re selling

This is the first building block you need to get right if you’re going to sell social media: believe in what you’re selling so you can be confident.

When you’re confident, it comes through in your communication (handshake, tone, smile, facial expressions, and body language) and leads them to believe you can generate leads from managing their social media account. That alone will push the needle from no deal to deal in many scenarios.

And part of confidence comes with education. Be informed about why social media will produce these businesses more revenue, why social media is not going away, and how it protects their brand, etc.

However, when you, the seller, aren’t confident then that also comes out and returns the opposite effect—no sale.

For example, a business owner I met with for lunch last Friday told a story of how a family friend of his is going door to door selling new utilities packages. He made the joke that no one is actively looking for a new utilities service and he could see it on the guy’s face that he wasn’t all in about his offering. Needless to say, the utilities seller didn’t close the deal.

Why? Because he didn’t even believe in what he was selling so he can’t convince the consumer to believe.

Always remember that confidence is contagious. Use it in your favor when pitching potential new clients.

(Tip: If you don’t believe in the power of social media marketing, then you need to educate yourself with articles like this one, this one and this one.)

2) Aim for small commitments

With a confident approach, it’ll still be difficult to get business owners to open their checkbook and give their hard-earned money to you. Except you can make this process easier by first asking for small commitments.

The persuasion tactic behind pitching a small commitment is you’re showing that you’re confident in what you do, you’re patient, and you’re willing to build the relationship through trust before signing a monthly contract.

This goes a long way to any business owner, especially the social media advertising skeptics.

Small commitments look like: a 5 minute meeting, a 30 minute meeting, and then a small trial to show them what you can do.

They’d have to be silly to turn down a trial where they don’t have to pay for your work and only have to pay for the Facebook advertising spend.

Take a look at something you could say below.

Hey, I’ve been a big fan of this clothing store for years and love the product you guys put out. Reason I’m reaching out is I’m confident I can bring you more customers through social media marketing. Tell you what, if you can run a small trial with me for $100-$200, I won’t charge you. I believe in earning business, not asking for it. What do you think?

It doesn’t need to be said exactly like that, but the formula of compliment, make your claim, and then go for a small ask works extremely well.

You’ll get nearly 99% more conversations compared to asking for a big deal when they’ve never seen you before, “Hey, I do social media marketing for businesses. My rate is $1,000 a month. Do we have a deal?”

Good luck if that’s your opening pitch!

Once you get the trial, all that’s left to do is produce results and you’ll sign them right away. It will be the easiest pitch of your life after you show social media marketing works.

Of course, when business is booming then you don’t need to ask for small commitments if you don’t want to anymore. Your approach can be a bolder “take it or leave it” which actually could convert better sometimes given the context.

Though asking for small commitments is how you’re going to quickly sign new clients in the beginning days of your business.

3) Always be hungry

As I said back in the introduction, a lot of people would love to manage social media accounts. The appeal of getting paid to work on the beach in Australia, with a drink in their hands, and the sun shining is dream-like.

That means you need to cut through the competition to get your own clients or someone else will grab them eventually.

How do you rise to the top? Be hungry at all times.

In my mind at least, being hungry means focusing on the sole mission of getting a new client regardless of other distractions.

It’s getting rid of your feelings of insecurity, tiredness, shame, and embarrassment, to go sell like your life depends on it. For some of you, it actually might.

You could be told no 100 times from Monday to Thursday, but if you stay hungry you increase the odds of getting a yes at 4 PM on a Friday.

Sales is a numbers game. The more effort you put into pitching clients, the more rejections you’re going to get. But at the same time, you’re going to get more clients signed.

Don’t let the rejections get to you, realistically they’re just road signs you’re closer to getting your next yes.

And hungry people get the lion’s share of the clients and money. Not to mention the peace of mind that they worked extremely hard that day.

So whether you have 0, 1, 10, 50 or 100 clients, always be hungry for more! That’s assuming you want to do this full-time, like I do 😉

All It Takes Is One

Just like getting accepted in college, receiving your first after college job offer, and finding a spouse who loves you, all it takes is one client to pay you to manage their social media accounts.

That should encourage you big time!

This means you’re one conversation away from meeting the right person who will take a chance on you running Facebook ads, posting from their profiles, and offering creative content ideas.

Just one man or woman who is positive mindset that day open for new opportunities. Maybe since they’re not technologically savvy and know they need to be on social media, they hire you. Or they respect your hustle and see a younger version of themselves in you so they give you a shot to prove yourself.

The list of possibilities goes on and on, but only if you put yourself out there.

Think about every business owner who you have a personal relationship with and reach out to them. Tell your family and friends what you’re up to and ask if they know anyone who might be interested. Email your previous professors and do the same.

Plus, you’re going to have to do the dreaded cold calling over email, the phone, or in person. I prefer to get as many in-person meetings as possible since I’ve found that’s the best medium to convert a deal.

And once that initial person or company takes a chance on you, then you can get the ball rolling and build your portfolio over time to land other clients (if you so choose).

You’re in the worst of it right now and it’s only going to get better going forward if you stay committed.

This has less to do with natural talent or skill, and everything to do with working hard.

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What’s The Best Business Idea For Beginner Entrepreneurs?

If you want to become an entrepreneur, the next immediate question has to be, “What’s the best business idea for me to make money?” I have the answer.

For those looking for a quick solution so they can skip any hard work, sorry in advance. This insight is not going to be what you want to hear.

But you’re going to save a ton of time doing it my way instead of the wrong path you might be tempted to go down.

Endurance and patience is always involved, but only fruitful if you’re headed in the right direction.

Let me explain.

Where Beginner Entrepreneurs Go Wrong

Beginner entrepreneurs often go wrong by trying to hit a home run on their first at bat when they have zero entrepreneurial skills, zero connections, zero capital, etc.

That app idea you have? It’s most likely garbage.

The software company you know is going to make you billions? Probably won’t make you a penny.

The new social network that’s better than anything out there? You’re crazy if you think you’re going to beat billion dollar companies in the market today.

And that’s why these beginner entrepreneurs set themselves up to fail.

Biting off more than you can chew is a recipe for disaster (or throwing up your food, gross).

I’m all for having big dreams. I mean the name of this site is Take Your Success, encouraging you to go out in this world and make your dream a reality.

But I’ve found that beginner entrepreneurs who aim too big, too high, too early, come up short and are forever discouraged.

They put their bucket down an empty well and are surprised they come out with no water although they’ve put a year or two into the project.

Think about this.

Jeff Bezos didn’t start his entrepreneurial career by aiming to build the biggest online shopping store in the world. If he did, odds are he would have failed.

He started with books and used what he learned to dominate that industry to expand Amazon.com to what it is today.

Mark Zuckerberg didn’t open Facebook and market it to everyone from the start. That would have slowed the growth tremendously.

His social network only accepted Harvard students, then it slowly expanded to other college students, and then they opened up to every age and went global.

Elon Musk didn’t graduate college and aim to build a rocket company. If he did, my money is it would have flopped in his face.

Instead he built a digital maps program and used what he learned there to build up to PayPal, Tesla, and now SpaceX.

Whether you have similar ambitions as those entrepreneurial giants or just want to quit your job and do what you love, the best business idea to do that is below.

Best Business Idea To Get Started

Maybe this isn’t as profound as you hoped, but I firmly believe people new to the entrepreneurial space will be far more successful and encouraged if they simply copy other successful entrepreneurs who are making a full-time income from their work.

Not billionaires, just millionaires or the average Joe who is making around $100,000 or more a year, for example, in an entrepreneurial pursuit.

Look at individual entrepreneurs who are making things happen on the Internet. Start following their steps to success.

Read their blog. Watch their videos. Sign up for their email list. Listen to their podcast. Understand how they serve an audience through a service or product, and how they monetize it.

You’ll struggle if you try to mimic the CEO of ESPN or Nike.

Because they’re on an entirely different planet with almost unlimited resources compared to your very limited capabilities. And you don’t have decades of experience to rely on like they do.

I want this article to be timeless so I’m hesitant to recommend specific ideas.

The point is to do some research, consume content, and be self-aware to know your personality and skillset to determine how you’re going to serve the market and get paid for it.

Your primary goal at this stage is to start making money to supplement your income so you can eventually become a full-time entrepreneur. This is key since you can only create so much magic if 40 hours a week you’re tied to a 9 to 5 job.

Although you don’t have to be all in for the money to be an entrepreneur, your work does need to generate income or it’s just a little, cute hobby you do every week.

You don’t want cute. You want the real deal and that means getting paid for your contributions.

And one last reminder—because many young entrepreneurs go wrong here—it’s going to be impossible to try to mimic 13 different entrepreneurs who all are pushing you in different directions.

You’ll end up dazed and confused with no direction.

Find one or two people who you vibe with, and then work hard to take the steps they did to succeed.

Once you have a solid income from your small entrepreneurial pursuit, then you can build off of that foundation to grow your empire.

Build Going Forward

Now once you’ve learned some foundational tips of entrepreneurship, then it’s time to start building from there.

Because by this point you’ll have built a steady stream of monthly income and earned yourself some breathing room to explore grander (and more profitable) projects. Plus, you’ll gain valuable experience to bring with you in this next venture that will increase your odds of success.

Though improving your craft as an entrepreneur at every stage is fun in my opinion, this is where the real enjoyment starts to happen.

For me, this meant going from blogger to cofounding a digital marketing company. The stakes immediately became 100 times more real.

But in the midst of difficulty lies opportunity. And so far, this video proves I’ve taken this opportunity to serve local businesses and I’m making the most of it.

If you want it bad enough, you can become a professional entrepreneur who is in it for the long haul.

Now it’d be foolish to say all of their achievements can be credited to reading, just as it’d be foolish to say what they read didn’t help them strategize, innovate, and persevere.

If you want an edge in the business world, put your head in a few books. And not just any books, but start off with the best books for entrepreneurs.

I know you’re going to love all of these if you have an entrepreneurial spirit.

15 Best Books For Entrepreneurs

1. The ONE Thing by Gary Keller

This is a common dilemma for young entrepreneurs: You set out to dominate in one area, but along the way as things get hard you’ll get distracted and lose focus on your main objective for less important tasks or projects. You’ll ultimately lose progress along the way on what you set out to do in the first place so you fail.

Gary Keller’s The ONE Thing (one of my favorite books) will teach you why it’s vital you have laser-like focus on your one thing, be obsessed with it, and dedicate almost all of your time to it. There’s no room for distractions if you’re going to take your dreams as far as your ambitions can dream about.

This book isn’t for you if you’re a diehard believer in work life balance. But most entrepreneurs aren’t in the work life balance group for reasons unsaid.

2. Napoleon by Vincent Cronin

How can a French military leader who conquered almost all of Europe in the 19th century teach you about becoming a better entrepreneur? Don’t underestimate the lessons of Napoleon and his rise to power.

He didn’t grow up with the deck stacked in his favor, but made the most of his opportunities to rule the world for a time. This book will inspire you that you can do unbelievable things with your life. That’s empowering in itself. (I found this book after hearing that Oracle’s Larry Ellison appreciated it, and I’m thankful I read it.)

3. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Business is stressful and slanderous rumors can be completely unfair. That’s just how it is when the competition is coming at your neck to beat you down.

But how can you expect to effectively manage your business, your customers, and yourself if your head’s not right? Exactly, you can’t. You’ll take out your frustration in the wrong manner and suffer business consequences because of it.

That’s assuming you don’t read Mediations and learn how to discipline your mind to work for your good. Marcus Aurelius is a genius philosopher who will train you to focus on mastering your thoughts. Your business (and personal mindset) will prosper from putting these teachings to use.

4. Zero To One by Peter Thiel

Thiel, founder of PayPal and one of the most successful entrepreneurs out of Silicon Valley, wrote a book following up his teaching an entrepreneurship class at Stanford. The information in here for running a startup is unbelievable. Many people consider this the number one business book out there, and if they’re wrong they’re not far off.

If you’re looking for insight on using technology to win market share, getting away from competition, sales advice, hiring practices, and so much more, look no further than Zero To One.

5. Business Adventures by John Brooks

You could start your entrepreneurial journey on your own experience and see how that works out for you, maybe it’s a massive success. But I have a good feeling you’ll do better if you take into consideration the lessons in Brooks’ Business Adventures.

This book dives into blockbuster case studies from the past and their clear business lessons on topics like rapid success, market research, revenge, and losing focus on the objective. (P.S. This is Bill Gates’ favorite book on business.)

6. The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

Building a business is hard. And with all hard things, there’s no formula or recipe to go from starting point to success. You have to learn as you go and use your personal experiences to make the best choice, even when the future outcome is often unknown.

Any budding entrepreneur could use Horowitz’s insight and personal story to help them navigate their entrepreneurial journey. After all, the struggle of building a company is where greatness comes from.

7. How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Whatever kind of startup or freelance work you venture out on, somewhere you’re going to have to effectively deal with people if you’re going to win. Dale Carnegie’s masterpiece will show you the ropes on how to get the most out of your social interactions.

Dive deep into this book to practice handling people, getting people to like you, win over people to your ideas, and being an effective leader who gets the most out of others. Your business will prosper when people enjoy how you make them feel.

8. The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

Want a scientific approach to ensure your business’ success? The Lean Startup will walk you through the exact process ensuring you don’t bring a product or service to market that your customers don’t want or won’t pay for.

Keep your business lean and stay in business by following this model of operation. It’s truly a science that you can replicate over and over again to eliminate uncertainty. I know I’ve referenced this process multiple times to work smarter.

9. As a Man Thinketh by James Allen

As an entrepreneur, your company is only as good as your thoughts. You’re only as good as your thoughts. Your employees are only as good as your thoughts. Get the idea?

James Allen’s short read has principles showing how your thoughts lead to your reality. If you’re not happy with where you’re at professionally, use this book to examine your thoughts and how you can improve them for a more prosperous future. The best entrepreneurs are practiced optimists.

10. The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss

While the title shouldn’t be taken literally, Tim Ferriss’ hit book provides a ton of great insight for moving from a 9 to 5 job to entrepreneurship. This is especially useful for lifestyle entrepreneurs who want to build a business that supports them and not a huge business that isn’t as easily optimized and automated.

If replacing self-doubt, focusing on only what’s important, earning autopilot cash flow, and having location-independent work is appealing to you, this book is a home run. You’re going to absolutely enjoy this entertaining read!

11. Conscious Capitalism by John Mackey and Raj Sisodia

Think business is all about wringing every last ounce of profit out of the market, and nothing else matters? Mr. Mackey and Sisodia would tell you you’re wrong and that business is about a higher purpose than pure profits.

Read this book if you want to see how your business can both be successful while also making the world a better place in the process through conscious capitalism. You can both improve the standard of living around the world and make a killing, if you try. These authors would tell you to try.

12. The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

In my experience, you’ll run your business as well as you’re mentally prepared to. Meaning how you fundamentally see the world and your behaviors are going to directly influence the progress or recession of your work. Covey covers this and how to change your beliefs for the better.

For example, how you see your business plays a huge factor in your success. Do you see it in a proactive manner where you’re the master of your own fate or in a reactionary mindset where the world happens to you and it’s your job to adjust? Winning entrepreneurs are proactive and bend the world to their desires.

13. Benjamin Franklin by Walter Isaacson

Ben Franklin wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He grew up in humble beginnings and became a printer, only to later invent the lightning rod and play a crucial role in international politics.

So how can this help you build a business? You can learn from Franklin, a true entrepreneur at the core, about how he navigated business to come out on top. He’s a great story of accomplishing the American dream through hard work. If he can do it, you can too.

14. Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Unleashing the power of your subconscious mind is a key principle in this book. It’s also something every entrepreneur can use to achieve unimaginable feats.

For example, there’s no way saying your company’s financial goal in the morning and at night is hurtful. If anything it’s going to frame your day in a way that inspires you to put in the work to achieve it.

And although making a boatload of cash often comes with the territory of achieving excellence, whether that’s your goal or not, you can learn tangible and intangible lessons to push your business forward from Napoleon Hill’s bestseller.

15. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

The last and my personal favorite: Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead.

It takes crazy guts and personal willpower to not conform to the world who tells you to go to school and work a 9 to 5 job until you’re 65. This book follows the story of a man with iron will integrity, shining a light on how true freedom is earned by sticking to what you believe and not conforming.

Any entrepreneur who hopes to one day create something magical could learn about the perseverance it takes to keep going when the world is against you. Like I said, I’m a huge fan of this book!

Read 1 Book At A Time

I personally read a book every 1 to 2 weeks (depending how busy I am) since I want to be a top entrepreneur and I know that the average CEO reads 4 to 5 books a month.

But keep in mind, you don’t have to be like me or anyone else.

Be your own entrepreneur. Be your own person. Read at your own pace.

So if you’re not a natural reader, don’t try to read a book a week. That will only frustrate you and you won’t have time to implement anything.

Maybe read 1 book a month to build the habit. And although reading sometimes helps in the short-term, it’s truly a long-term play to learn from people who have succeeded before you and build mental muscle.

How To Build A Personal Brand That Precedes You

Your professional life becomes way easier and doors open when your reputation precedes you. But to get that point, you have to know how to build a personal brand.

As an online business owner and author, every day I see the benefits of a strong personal brand in the marketplace. Put simply, bigger and better opportunities come out of thin air when people know you and your work.

What I’ve also discovered is reputation is not only important for entrepreneurs and celebrities, but literally every single professional can benefit from a powerful personal brand.

I’m talking about:

Realtors

College students

Actors

Accountants

Engineers

Bankers

Athletes

Coaches

Sales reps

Teachers

Hairdressers

Coaches

Stylists

And I could go on and on.

We’d all be better off if we watched less television, played less video games, texted less drama, binged less Netflix, and instead blocked off time to build a top personal brand.

Why should you stop all the non-value producing activities and focus your limited time on building a personal brand? Here’s why.

The Power Of A Strong Personal Brand

A job candidate with an established personal brand positions themselves to get their dream job from the start. Maybe they have a strong blog, podcast, or YouTube following, which becomes a unique factor that helps them stand out from the pack.

You can also mention stories and experiences from your personal brand work that make you qualified to succeed in this new job. Odds are the company will be intrigued and impressed.

If you’re looking for a raise or promotion, executing to the best of your ability helps. But what if other coworkers also do that? Then your personal brand can be the separating factor that gives you the nod over the other guy or girl.

And say you want to completely change careers. You can reach out to your audience for assistance in landing your new job in a different field. Or the income from your personal brand can buy you time before you decide what to pursue full time.

In my world, the entrepreneurs with the biggest brand get paid six-figures for a one hour keynote speech, they get features on the top sites, and new business opportunities flock to them without them breaking a sweat.

When authors like Tony Robbins come out with a book, you can all but guarantee it’s making The New York Times bestseller list because of Tony’s fan base.

While I’m nowhere on the level of the people I just described, I’ve definitely seen the firsthand benefits of my growing personal brand through appearing on tv, countless podcast interview requests, and word of mouth. Each of those has helped me move forward professionally or financially.

For example, my blog audience, email list, and social media following helped my three books become bestsellers. With no personal brand, no one is buying those books when they came out then or now.

And I’ve used my personal brand as a selling point to do digital marketing for clients and win rich contracts. Part of the pitch is if I can build a quality personal brand for myself in a few short years starting from nothing, imagine what I can do for your established company.

I could go case study by case study, but trust me when I say my personal brand has paid me more than 10,000 times over. That’s not an exaggeration!

It’s just a fact that building a personal brand pays off down the road in your career. The hard work and patience turns into tangible results regardless of the professional path you follow.

Are you willing to do what it takes? Or whatever it takes? If you want a personal brand that works 24/7 to serve you, here’s what you’ll want to do.

How To Build A Personal Brand

1. Show up

Look, you can’t build a personal brand if you don’t show up to work for it. It’s a little sad this has to be the first tip, but it’s true that most people don’t work to build a brand.

They want the easy route and there isn’t one if you want a huge audience. The only option is to go to work and put your head down so you don’t get distracted.

The way you show up in the personal brand space is by focusing on one of these platforms:

Blog

Podcast

YouTube channel

Public speaking

Once you build traction, continue to stay on that platform but then add another one and send your audience there. For example, a successful blogger might add a podcast to the mix and encourage the blog audience to listen to his new podcast.

Put in the hard work when no one cares what you’re doing to get to the point where millions of people care down the road.

Because get this: Life becomes easier down the road for the people who continue to show up. They get blessed with new opportunities left and right.

Life becomes harder for those who don’t show up to build a personal brand and have nothing to leverage when times get tough.

It’s ironic, but 100% true.

2. Know your specific audience

A personal brand without an audience isn’t a personal brand at all. But audiences don’t randomly show up.

It’s your job to know them and cater to them. I’ll cover catering to them later after you know them.

It’s absolutely critical you know who you’re communicating with or you won’t connect with them. No connection means they won’t stick around for long.

But by understanding your target audience, you can build loyal fans who roll with you for decades. Read this article titled 1,000 True Fans to see how 1,000 diehards can make your career.

One of my favorite lines from that read is:

A thousand customers is a whole lot more feasible to aim for than a million fans. Millions of paying fans is not a realistic goal to shoot for, especially when you are starting out. But a thousand fans is doable. You might even be able to remember a thousand names. If you added one new true fan per day, it’d only take a few years to gain a thousand.

Answer these audience questions before you start creating content:

Who is the ideal person you want to target to get 1,000 true fans?

How old are they?

What are their pain points?

What is their financial position?

What are their habits and hobbies?

What do they dream about achieving?

When you know these answers (if you don’t, do some research), you’ll know know how to give value to these people and persuade them to follow you.

3. Give free value

Most people trying to establish a personal brand fail. This fact is backed up by a New York Times article which reports that about 95% of blogs are abandoned.

I have a theory why.

The people who start a blog, podcast, or YouTube channel with the initial idea that they need to receive something right away are the ones that quit when it doesn’t happen soon enough. They’re 100% in it to receive, not give.

But the ones who have the attitude that they’re going to give value to people (most likely in the form of information or entertainment) set themselves up to win in the long run.

Besides free written, audio, or video content, another way to build a community of loyal followers is to do giveaways and promotions.

You could give away your time to call a follower. You could spend money and do a contest where one winner wins the special prize. Or you could create a product you give away to your audience who sign up for your email list.

Give and you shall receive applies in the personal brand field more than anywhere else.

4. Be an authentic, real person

I don’t usually talk politics on Take Your Success (besides this post) because I try to keep this a positive space. But a main reason Clinton lost the 2016 Presidential Election to Trump is she didn’t come off as authentic or trustworthy to the average American.

Reason I bring that up is your personal brand will also let you down if you fall into the trap of trying to appear perfect online. That’s not what people want, it’s actually the opposite.

People love someone who knows who they are, owns it, and doesn’t falter under popular opinion. Chameleons and people-pleasers don’t go far when it comes to personal brands. We want real people.

How do you pull off authentic? It depends what space you’re in. But here are a few examples.

An aspiring model can publish the original photos on Instagram with the touched up final shots.

An aspiring news reporter can put together a clip of their bloopers and fails in their first year.

A lifestyle blogger can get real by talking about the loneliness and other downsides of traveling the world alone.

An online personality can do a personal video about their childhood, their family dynamic, or how a traumatic event changed their outlook on life.

And you can start doing live videos. Engagement is higher when you broadcast yourself live. It also creates the effect where people feel like they’re in the same room as you.

Be real and you’ll blow up quicker than trying to be perfect.

Perfection is boring. A hero’s journey of ups and downs is much more interesting.

5. Show expertise or work towards it

This “being an expert” idea trips up a ton of people starting out. They think they have to be a know-it-all in their space to get started, which is nowhere near the truth.

Say you’re not an expert, no problem. Just showcase your journey to becoming one. Remember authenticity sells well, and the climb to the top is very interesting.

And expertise comes with time. So what often happens is you document your journey to becoming an expert and transition to communicating with the authority of an expert.

Now if you’re an expert, don’t act like you’re not. Show off your expertise because that’s what is going to give people the most value and separate yourself from the competition.

Just in doing so, I recommend communicate to people in a conversational tone where they can understand you. The people who win are pros at breaking down complex ideas into simple ideas for the average Joe to comprehend.

Sharing your high-level ideas whether it’s in the food, fitness, or juggling arena will attract beginners who want to improve.

What happens most times when you’re on someone else’s platform is you are free to shout out where people can find you. So if you provide value or interest with your opportunity, part of their audience will check you out and follow you.

And other content producers who see this may invite you to collaborate with them on their platform. This snowballs forward for more opportunities and a bigger following.

Plus you’ll build your network by interacting with other personalities in the space. Depending on the person, this can pay huge professional and financial dividends.

Star entrepreneurs Grant Cardone and Gary Vaynerchuk understand this principle for growing their audience. That’s why they teamed up for this video.

7. Stick with it for decades

This goes back to and is a continuation of Step 1: Show up.

The fact of the matter is the world is a huge place with billions of people in it. And you’re not the only one striving to create a top personal brand in your field.

Competition is tough in anything worthwhile, but one way to increase your odds of winning is to never give up.

You need to stay the course on this mission for 10-plus years to make solid traction and grow a huge following. That’s a prerequisite for 99% of people.

Sure, some people break out to become stars in a year or two, but that’s the extreme minority and they often had luck or family money in their corner

You don’t need luck or money, you just need dedication. Commit to mastering your craft. Inspire others. Entertain them on their bad days. And be someone they can count on every year to show up.

Too many people quit before they see any results, only to try something else and also quit that. This way of living means you’ll always start from zero and never stick around to accomplish anything of significance.

Show up for decades to get the true fruits of your labor. That’s what legends have sacrificed to become legendary.

Final Words

Be encouraged by the idea that there was a time when no one knew Warren Buffett, Jennifer Lopez, or Steph Curry. They showed up and worked for their personal brand day and night.

Who cares if no one knows you right now? If you build your personal brand brick by brick, the sky’s the limit!

And if you’re fortunate, years down the road people will be wishing they had your personal brand like you wish you had someone’s now.

I’ll see you at the top in a few decades. Let’s grab a glass of wine to celebrate. We’ll have certainly earned it.